Minnesota Men Indicted for Bizarre Plot to Intimidate Judge

We’re just a small group trying to wake up the masses. The IRS is not a member of the U.S. government. It is a private collection agency for the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund. — Robert Beale in an interview with the Star Tribune

Robert Beale, who’s currently in jail awaiting sentencing for tax evasion, apparently didn’t care much for the authority of U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery, the judge who presided over his trial in May. But instead of taking things up with his lawyer, Beale (pictured) took the matter into his own hands.

According to this indictment, filed Tuesday in Minnesota federal court, a month before Beale was convicted, he made a call from jail to a friend who shared his dislike of the U.S. tax system. “God wants me to destroy the judge,” Beale told his friend. “That judge is evil. He wants me to get rid of her.”

That friend, along with two other men, are now co-defendants with Beale in another indictment. They’ve all been charged with attempting to prevent Judge Montgomery from presiding over Beale’s tax evasion trial through force, intimidation and threat, according to the indictment. (Here’s a story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.)

The defendants allegedly held a “common law court” to issue false liens and “arrest warrants” against Judge Montgomery. They were also planning to disrupt court proceedings in the belief that only Jesus Christ has jurisdiction over people, according to the indictment. Beale allegedly instructed the group to bring 30 to 40 people to his trial to disrupt it if Montgomery failed to dismiss the charges. No more than a handful of observers ever attended, reports the Trib.

Now, we know what you’re thinking. A group with this kind of chutzpah must have a great name. And you’re right. According to the indictment, the men called themselves this mouth-full: “Our one supreme court Common-Law court for the de-jure Ramsey: the county: Minnesota; the land a superior court for the People, original jurisdiction under Almighty Yahweh exclusive jurisdiction in and for confederation-government United States of America.”

Of course, this episode is bizarre but not necessarily amusing, given that judges have been subjected to threats and violence before.

On April 10, the month before Beale’s trial, one of the men submitted a subpoena to the Hennepin County sheriff’s office, demanding that Judge Montgomery appear before their common law court. Then, according to the indictment, on April 16, the following conversation occurred when Beale made a call to an unindicted co-conspirator (identified as UCC):

Beale: They had a grand jury meeting last night.
UCC: Yup.
Beale: They gave [Judge] Montgomery the subpoena to attend.
UCC: And then she didn’t.
Beale: What’s that?
UCC: No, she didn’t. I asked Fred last night. I seen him on Skype last night.
Beale: Did he say anything else about the meeting?
UCC: No . . . He said he was going to take that warrant to the sheriffs today.
Beale: Okay, good. Maybe she won’t show up tomorrow.

The four face a max of six years in prison on the conspiracy to impede charge and 10 years for the obstruction count. Beale already faces another 10 years in prison for tax evasion. A jury found him guilty after deliberating for less than two hours in May.

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The Law Blog covers the legal arena’s hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities. It’s brought to you by lead writer Jacob Gershman with contributions from across The Wall Street Journal’s staff. Jacob comes here after more than half a decade covering the bare-knuckle politics of New York State. His inside-the-room reporting left him steeped in legal and regulatory issues that continue to grab headlines.

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